The Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014 in Astana

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/. The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, unanimously ratified the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on Wednesday.

The Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014 in Astana.

The agreement is the basic document defining the accords between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan for creating the EEU for the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce and conducting coordinated, agreed or common policies in key sectors of the economy, such as energy, industry, agriculture and transport.

The agreement stipulates the transition of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to the next stage of integration after the Customs Union and the common economic space.

The agreement defines the structure, powers and work procedures for the union’s bodies that comprise the Higher Eurasian Economic Council composed of the heads of state, the Eurasian Inter-Governmental Council composed of the heads of governments of the union’s member states, the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Eurasian Economic Union Court.

A separate part of the agreement formulates the principles of forming the union’s budget, which will be made up of ruble contributions by the member states. The size of the contributions will be determined by the Higher Council.

The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union stipulates customs and technical regulation, foreign trade policies and measures to protect the internal market. The agreement envisages the transition to common customs tariffs.

The agreement also stipulates the principles of coordinated macro-economic and foreign exchange policies, financial market regulation, interaction in the energy and transport sectors, the development of a common gas, oil, petroleum product, medicines and medical equipment market.

The treaty’s provisions also cover such areas as intellectual property and state purchases, industry, agriculture and labor migration. The document also regulates informational interaction within the union.

The document defines the Russian language as the union’s working language. The treaty also stipulates that the Eurasian Commission will be headquartered in Moscow, the Eurasian Economic Union Court in Minsk and the financial regulator in Almaty.

The document says that the union is open for accession by any state sharing the union’s goals and principles on the terms agreed by the member countries. The document stipulates a 10-year period for the union’s member states to fully harmonize their national legislatures.

Kazakhstan is expected to ratify the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union on October 2 and Belarus — on October 7.